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I'm supposing that this comes up in the context of people complaining about Apple. It's interesting to see an example of a company which basically chained itsel

I'm supposing that this comes up in the context of people complaining about Apple. It's interesting to see an example of a company which basically chained itself to backwards compatibility and a sort of focus-group dedication to what "pro" users wanted, and ended up losing the "pro" market as a result (to a company that willfully broke compatibility and developed something nobody seemed to be asking for).

tonyedgecombe 9y ago
I've wondered for a while if we worry too much about backwards compatibility, it must be a huge burden for companies like Microsoft to deal with. Meanwhile Apple seems to almost relish breaking old API's with each new release of macOS and it doesn't seem to hurt them.
- _ph_ 9y ago
  With cameras of course lack of backwards compatibility means breaking compatiblity with existing lenses. A complete "pro" set of lenses is worth thousands if not tens of thousands. So this is a step to be taken carefully. When Canon retired the FD system, a lot of people were unhappy, certainly hurting Canons business at that time (incidentally, that caused me to swith from Canon FD to Nikon F when getting my first AF-SLR). In the long time, that big step has paid off for Canon.
- radiowave 9y ago
  There's room for different approaches. Part of the reasons why Microsoft's biggest customers are so is because they value that backwards compatibility. And it's also the reason why they're probably not big Apple customers. (Except of course for ubiquitous management iPhone.)
Finnucane 9y ago
Part of the problem for Nikon was that their old lenses were built to last forever, so they did. I just got a new Nikon DSLR, and I've had Nikons since the 1970s. So The fact that I can grab my AI-S lenses (but sadly not the even older pre-AI lenses) and go out and shoot is cool. And I've never felt drawn to Canon. A while ago I did acquire a Hasselblad, but that's a different story entirely.

tonyedgecombe 9y ago

I've wondered for a while if we worry too much about backwards compatibility, it must be a huge burden for companies like Microsoft to deal with. Meanwhile Apple seems to almost relish breaking old API's with each new release of macOS and it doesn't seem to hurt them.

_ph_ 9y ago
With cameras of course lack of backwards compatibility means breaking compatiblity with existing lenses. A complete "pro" set of lenses is worth thousands if not tens of thousands. So this is a step to be taken carefully. When Canon retired the FD system, a lot of people were unhappy, certainly hurting Canons business at that time (incidentally, that caused me to swith from Canon FD to Nikon F when getting my first AF-SLR). In the long time, that big step has paid off for Canon.
radiowave 9y ago
There's room for different approaches. Part of the reasons why Microsoft's biggest customers are so is because they value that backwards compatibility. And it's also the reason why they're probably not big Apple customers. (Except of course for ubiquitous management iPhone.)

Finnucane 9y ago

Part of the problem for Nikon was that their old lenses were built to last forever, so they did. I just got a new Nikon DSLR, and I've had Nikons since the 1970s. So The fact that I can grab my AI-S lenses (but sadly not the even older pre-AI lenses) and go out and shoot is cool. And I've never felt drawn to Canon. A while ago I did acquire a Hasselblad, but that's a different story entirely.